YMCA Full Day Nursery Plans

As parents of Queens Park, Goldington and Wootton Community Nurseries, members of the community in these areas call upon One YMCA to listen to the needs of the areas these nurseries serve. Some areas being disadvantaged,  and some people on low incomes needing this lifeline service.

Under the new plans, service users will be charged 51 weeks (losing term time only places) and 10 hour full days (losing flexible hours, eg; 8-6, 9-5, 9-4, 9-12, 12-3) meaning families will have to work longer to pay for the fees, losing quality family time and forcing families into debt to cover such fees on top of rising fuel and energy costs, this is highly unfair, and we are now being forced to choose between nursery and family time and holidays or deciding whether to pay bills or nursery fees. Forcing kids into 51 week, 10 hour day childcare, is like treating them as property they own, workers and their cash cows.

Under these plans my family and families doing the same hours are facing a 797% increase. We expect a rise but this is draining the life out of many families. This is based on 5 day week, losing term time and forced into weeks we don’t require taking into account 30 hour funding. It is higher for those on 15 hours funding as they have to cover more hours they don’t need. Hours that the nurseries cannot staff currently.

Children with disabilities and special educational needs, who are settled, being forced out or forced into routines which could distress them. Also very upsetting and distressing to all children as friendship groups get ripped apart.

And without this lifeline service many families will be left with no childcare options as other nurseries are full, don’t offer term time places, don’t have the hours to accommodate our children or will be on a waiting list that many will be in school before they can be offered a place in September 2023. Without the childcare, many parents will face the choice between going to work and keeping food on the table or taking care of their children, who have every right to access childcare.

The law states that nurseries have to give 30 days notice of changes and we have to by contract have to give 30 days notice to cancel places. Meaning many have been forced to leave without any questions and concerns being addressed and many facing increases before knowing what they need to do forcing many people in to decisions.

The CEO Guy Foxell has a basic salary of £114,717, in 2020 it was £113,136 and 2021 £123,893.

The Director of Operations Mark Turner (who wrote to us on a Friday of the bank holiday weekend and via a phone app) is on basic £104,938, in 2020 it was £87,358 and 2021 £111,333.

The organisation as a whole had a surplus cash amount in the bank of over £1.5million.

We call for flexible hours and retention of term time only places. 

We who have signed this petition call for these Full Day Nursery plans to be reversed and retain the nursery as it currently stands before these plans were to take place, and any sensible increases to be discussed with families to ensure we are aware and have more warning about the plans moving forward.